Bulldog thinclads strong at L.A. Kohnke meet

The Lovell Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs competed well with larger schools at the L.A. Kohnke Track Meet in Powell Saturday, placing in the top three with Cody and host Powell in both the boys and girls divisions.

Cody Savage leans forward for extra distance during a recent track meet in one of the jumps. Savage and his teammates will host the Lovell Invitational Saturday at 9:30 a.m.

The Lovell boys placed a strong second to Powell, 229.5-159.5. Cody was third with 95.5 points. Cody won the girls division with 216 points to 144 for Powell and 134.5 for Lovell. Other schools competing were Worland, Burlington, Rocky Mountain, Meeteetse and Ten Sleep.

“It was a decent day, not too bad,” coach Joshua Sanders said. “There was some wind that affected runners in the back stretch. It was a decent wind.”

Jumpers, throwers and vaulters led the way for the Bulldogs Saturday as Lovell took six of the top eight spots in the triple jump, four of the top eight in the long jump and had three placers (top eight) in the high jump and two of the top four placers in the pole vault, shot put and discus.

Distance runners also excelled in Powell.

Lovell dominated the triple jump as junior Cody Savage won the event with a jump of 42-1, his best jump of the season so far, and Dino Collins pre-qualified for State with a personal-record throw of 40-5 to place second. Also jumping 40-5 but placing third on a tie-breaker was Morgan Baxendale.

Coaches named Savage as the LHS male athlete of the week for his performance in Powell.

“All of those kids jumped really, really well,” Sanders said. “Cody jumped well and hit some PRs for this year. 42 feet in the triple jump and close to 20 feet in the long jump is a good place for him to be. It’s good to see him doing well in the triple jump now because the state competition is going to be tough. There was a little wind pushing them, but still, they went out and jumped well.

“The triple jump was a fun event that day. They were getting into it and feeding off of each other.”

Savage also placed second in the long jump with a season-best leap of 19-5½, just 2½ inches from the pre-qualification mark. Colin May placed fourth with a personal-record jump of 18-11¾, Calin McArthur placed fifth with a personal-record 18-11½, Dino Collins eighth at 18-3½ (PR) and McKayan May ninth at 18-3¼.

“Almost 19 feet for Colin…we need that,” Sanders said. “Regionals will be competitive in the long jump. We have five guys that can jump well but only four spots (to fill at Regionals).”

AJ Montanez and Tanner Rohrer continued to excel in the throws. Montanez placed second in the shot put with a toss of 50-2½, and the senior was third in the discus with a throw of 137-3½. Wind was a factor in the discus, Sanders said.

Rohrer placed fifth in the shot at 41-1, a PR, and fourth in the discus at 127-4½. Cody Savage finished ninth in the discus with a throw of 109-5, and Daniel Strom was 10th at 102-6½, McKay Mayes 12th at 98-3 and Clark 13th at 97-6½ (PR).

Lovell’s vaulters had their best efforts of the season as Nathan Grant placed second in the pole vault, clearing 12 feet and Kade Englert was fourth at 11 feet, tying his personal record.

“Nathan barely missed 12-6, and that would have been a personal record,” Sanders said. “Both of those guys vaulted well.”

Morgan Baxendale placed fourth in the high jump, clearing 5-7, and Englert was sixth and Bischoff eighth on misses, also clearing 5-7.

Lovell’s strength in the running events came in the distance races. Collin McArthur won the 1,600 meters with a time of 4:42.47, and Colin May won the 3,200 meters with a time of 11:02.49. AJ Dickson placed fifth in the 3,200 at 11:37.64 and seventh in the 1,600 at 5:09.43, a personal record.

“The wind played into both the 1,600 and 3,200,” Sanders said. “Coach (Caleb) Sanders wanted Collin to tuck in behind a runner because of the wind, to get the win. And in the 3,200, with eight laps, you really get hit by the wind.”

Mark Grant won the 300-meter intermediate hurdles with a time of 43.32, a personal record time close to the pre-qualification mark. McKayan May placed fourth at 45.14 (PR), Adam Beck sixth at 46.40 (PR). Dylan Hultgren finished 11th at 51.37.

“We’ve been working with Mark on hitting the first hurdle better, and he did that Saturday,” Sanders said. “He’s putting himself in a position to be very competitive at State.”

Dino Collins placed sixth in the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 18.15. Nathan Ballard placed eighth at 19.11, Nathan Grant ninth at 19.36 and Cade Bischoff 10th at 19.52.

Hyrum Hopkin placed sixth in the 800 meters with a time of 2:25.19, and Austin Ellis placed seventh in the 400-meter dash, covering the lap in 57.43, followed by Calin McArthur in eighth at 58.70 and Zeke Collins in 10th at 1:02.57.

“We’re still trying to get some people in events we want, like Austin. He ran an OK 400,” Sanders said.

In the relays, the foursome of Ellis, Hopkin, Jacob Beck and Adam Beck trimmed four seconds off their season best and placed second in the 3,200-meter relay with a time of 9:23.84. The team of Collin and Calin McArthur, Dino Collins and Mark Grant placed third in the 1,600-meter relay with a time of 3:48.05.

Like the boys, the Lovell jumpers ruled in the girls division Saturday, led by senior Jodi Walker. Walker won the triple jump with a season-best jump of 33-8, and she placed third in the long jump with a season-best leap of 15-5¼.

jumping event recently. Walker recorded her best marks of the year so far Saturday the Powell Invitational.

Coaches named Walker as the female athlete of the week for her performance.

“Jodi jumped well in both of the jumps,” Sanders said. “She had one jump she barely scratched on that was definitely in the mid-34s (triple jump). Her approach is really good right now. I hope she can keep that approach consistent. It’s exactly where we want it. She built some speed and hit the board at the right time. And she got under her hips at the right time. She has pre-qualified now in both the long and the triple.”

Kim Shumway placed second in the long jump at 15-9, and Chayli McArthur was right behind Walker in fourth at 14-5¼. Ivy Abraham was seventh at 13-8¼ (PR).

McArthur placed sixth in the triple jump at 31-1, and Ellis placed seventh at 30-11.

Kim Shumway also ran the 400-meter dash for the first time since the Cody meet and won it with a time of 1:00.33. Chayli McArthur placed fourth at 1:07.17, Hannah McCurley fifth at 1:09.04.

Susie Robertson won the 800 with a season-best time of 2:28.76, and Meryk McArthur placed fifth in the 1,600 at 6:16.32.

In the sprints, Chelsey Ellis raced to fourth place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.73, and Whitney Grant placed seventh with a personal-record time of 14.03. Kassidy Hetland finished 11th at 14.30.

Ameesha Anderson placed fifth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 30.40.

The Lady Bulldogs found success in the hurdles. Alyssa Geiser placed third in the 300-meter low hurdles with a time of 52.08, and Meryk McArthur placed sixth at 59.59. Whitney Grant placed fourth in the 100-meter intermediate hurdles with a personal-record time of 18.07, and Stephanie Allred was 10th at 22.51.

“Whitney looks really good (in the 100 hurdles) when she lead with her right leg,” Sanders said. “If we can get her form better with her opposite leg she’ll be stronger.”

In the relays, the quartet of Erin Robertson, Susie Robertson, Amanda Shumway and Kim Shumway ran a time of 4:14.42 to win the 1,600-meter relay going away. The foursome of Ellis, Hetland, Grant and Geiser placed third in the 400-meter relay with a time of 55.62.

Whitney Grant tied for first place in the pole vault, clearing 8 feet, and Lauren Hinckley placed fourth with a personal-record vault of 7 feet.

Amanda Shumway placed fourth in the high jump at 4-7, and McArthur was 10th at 4-3.

Miranda Griffis placed sixth in the shot put with a throw of 31-10, and Schuylar Davis was 10th at 29-3½. Similarly, Griffis placed sixth in the discus at 96-7, and Davis was 10th at 85-5.